Morocco
is a very popular birding destination due to the long list of exciting species
available.A number of recent
trip reports helped to further fire our imagination and so a trip was planned
with Nicola & Mark Breaks and Dave Bickerton.

We
were very fortunate to get flights from Manchester to Marrakech with British
Airways for £120 and this helped keep the total cost of the trip down to a very
reasonable £440 each. A couple of hotels were pre-booked over the internet but
mostly we relied on the ‘Rough Guide to Morocco’ to recommend accommodation.
We also used the extremely informative www.go-south.org
website run by Patrick Bergier. Together with the usual birding guides and the
Rough Guide Map of Morocco, we had plenty of literature to plan our itinerary.

Some
of the distances involved were rather large. We travelled approximately 2000km
during the seven days, normally during the heat of the day when the birds were
completely inactive. The weather was unseasonably hot during our stay with day
time temperatures getting above 40 C around Taroudannt! Language wasn’t too
much of a problem as Dave’s basic French was of a similar standard to the
Arabic speakers’ French (i.e. simple words and phrases!)

28th
March

A
smooth trip to Morocco was extended a little by a flight out into the Atlantic
to avoid a strike by French Air Traffic Control.

Common
Bulbul

As
we loaded the hire car, a comfortable if somewhat battered Peugeot 307, it did
not take long to locate our first new bird with Common Bulbul singing by
the car park.A number of Pallid
Swifts were overhead and they proved to be common throughout the urban areas
we visited.

Pallid
Swift

After
a drive into central Marrakech to fill up with petrol (not what we wanted to do
for our first driving experience, though the Little Swifts were nice), we
headed quickly south towards the High Atlas Mountains.After an hour we saw the mountains out of the haze and began
the climb towards our first destination – the ski resort of Oukaimeden.

Moussier's
Redstart

It
was a beautiful day and frequent stops soon produced one of our main target
birds – the lovely Moussier’s Redstart.We also enjoyed views of Booted Eagle, Long Legged Buzzard
& Blue Rock Thrush.

Booted
Eagle
& Long-legged Buzzard (DB)

On
reaching Oukaimeden the search began for the much sought after Crimson Winged
Finch.Unfortunately, Morocco was experiencing a heat wave and so
much of the snow had already melted.These
birds seem to favour the snow line so our chances did not seem good. However,
close views were enjoyed of Black & Seebhom’s Wheatears, Black
Redstart, Shore Lark and Rock Sparrow in beautiful
surroundings.

Black
Wheatear
& Seebhom's Wheatear

A
number of other birders confirmed that no CW Finches had been seen, despite
searching, for several days.We
retired to the Hotel Imlil for our first Tajine and a beer, hoping for better
luck in the morning.

Shore
Lark
& Rock Sparrow

29th
March

We
got up as the sun began to rise over the mountains, a wonderful way to start the
day.Deciding to drive up beyond
the usually reliable ‘Car Park P2’ (Gosney Southern, page 17), to find areas
of lying snow, we chose an interesting looking valley and began to search.It appeared to be a ‘needle in a haystack’ situation but luck was on
our side and from nowhere a stunning male Crimson Winged Finch appeared
on the side of the road.He was a real ‘cracker’ and we felt very fortunate to
have located this bird after the wintering flock had dispersed.

Crimson-winged
Finch (DB)

He
showed well twice more, before disappearing, but unfortunately our usually
reliable camera crew didn’t quite manage frame fillers on this occaison.One of the strangest moments of the trip then occurred when a Short
Toed Treecreeper appeared, hopping around one of the largest patches of
snow.

A
return to ‘Car Park 2’ produced the spectacle of hundreds of Red
& Yellow Billed Choughs feeding all around us – the sheen on their
feathers glistening in the sunlight.

Alpine
Chough

After
breakfast back at the hotel, we started the next (very protracted) leg of the
journey.Roadside stops produced a
succession of good birds including Barbary Partridge, Subalpine
Warbler, Firecrest,& RockBunting.

A
short cut through the Ourika Valley produced the first European Bee eater,
Black Eared Wheatear andSouthern Grey Shrike of the trip. Then a stop for provisions gave
us views of our first House Bunting, a bird that seemed extremely common
in all towns and villages.

Chaffinch

As
the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass approached we stopped first at Forest House near
Toufliath and found Hawfinch, Crossbill, Chaffinch & Cirl Bunting.Our next stop was in Cistus & Juniper habitat near Taddert. This is
an ideal habitat for Tristram’s Warbler and quickly produced three of
these lovely birds.At this spot a Bonelli’s
Eagle also appeared overhead.

Crossbill
& Tristram's Warbler

Through
the spectacular pass and on towards Ouarzazate and a site for Mourning
Wheatear that fellow Lancashire birder Stuart Piner had found in 2005.

Mourning
Wheatear

‘26km
west of Ouarzazate on the main road is a junction where ‘Agadir 348’ km is
to the left and Marrakech is straight on – continue in the direction of
Marrakech.The birds were immediately adjacent to the ‘Ouarzazate
29’ km post or on the rocky hillside to the right.’

Mourning
Wheatear

Carefully
followed the directions a pair was found in exactly the same location!

They
performed really well, along with our first White Crowned Black Wheatear
& Desert Lark of the trip.

Desert
Lark
& White-crowned Black Wheatear

It
was now late afternoon and after a brief trip to the Barrage El Mansour we
continued east to Boumalne.This
was our only drive in the dark and it proved to be as eventful as we had
anticipated, with lots of unlit mopeds and bikes appearing from out of nowhere.Thankfully we made it unscathed to our hotel - the Auberge
Soleil Bleu.

30th
March

Red-rumped
Wheatear
& Temminck's Horned Lark

After
a good nights sleep we were on the Tagdilt Track at dawn.As another beautiful day began we found ourselves at the rather less
lovely rubbish dump with its grumpy packs of feral dogs.

Desert
Wheatear
& Thekla Lark

Bar-tailed
Desert Lark (DB)

Careful
searching produced a number of hoped for species including delightful Red
Rumped Wheatears & Temminck’s Horned Larks.Other species included Desert Wheatear, Bar Tailed Desert, Thekla
& Lesser Short Toed Larks. There was no sign of Thick Billed Lark but
we did enjoy a close up encounter with a confiding flock of 11 Crowned
Sandgrouse.

(DB)

Crowned
Sandgrouse

By
mid morning it was very hot so our journey ever eastwards continued before a
brief siesta in Tinehir.Our next
stop was to look again for the elusive T B Lark in the desert 4km east of Mellab.Unfortunately, this only produced 20 Short Toed Larks.

Crowned
Sandgrouse (DB)

Passing
Jorf our anticipation increased, knowing this was a good area for one of the
most eagerly anticipated birds of the trip.It did not take long to locate 2 pairs of Blue Cheeked Bee eaters amongst
the palms.These wonderful birds
performed superbly, unlike the local children, who provided the type of
harassment we had been warned about but actually encountered very rarely.

Blue-cheeked
Bee-eater

Reaching
Erfoud we were finally approaching the end of the journey and soon spotted the
radio mast next to our hotel – the wonderfully plush & relaxed Auberge
Kasbah Derkaoua.

We
quickly settled in and did some birding around the hotel grounds.At dusk we got into position for an event that the owner told us had been
witnessed by hundreds of birders – and which kept his hotel busy each spring!To be honest it was a bit of an anti climax with brief views of a single Egyptian
Nightjar hawking around the hotel, with a similar showing at dawn.

However,
the wonderful meal served in the open air with a few beers was a real treat and
this desert experience comes highly recommended.

31st
March

Hoopoe
Lark

Out
again at dawn to search for the bird we had travelled all this way east in the
hope of finding.A ten minute drive
found us at the Hotel Kasbah Said and a quick search of the outhouses produced a
very ‘chirpy’ male Desert Sparrow.This enigmatic species was a real delight and performed well, until the
melancholy song of a nearby Hoopoe Lark distracted us.We quickly located a pair and found them delightfully tame.The male was a real showman and he regularly clambered up
onto the desert vegetation to deliver his beautiful song.He would then burst upwards displaying vivid black &
white wing markings before tumbling back to earth.The combination of these birds & a lovely cool desert morning was a
real joy.

Desert
Sparrow

Returning
to the hotel for breakfast we found a number of migrants, newly arrivedfrom across the Sahara.These
included Subalpine, Western Bonelli’s & Olivaceous
Warblers, Woodchat Shrike, Hoopoe & Wryneck.We also found Pied Flycatcher & Redstart and wondered
if they might be on the way to the woods of East Lancashire!

We
then headed for the Eagle Owl site near Rissani but could not find the bird in
difficult hot and windy conditions. A pair of nesting Brown Necked Ravens,
provided some compensation.

Brown-necked
Raven (DB)

Having
come so far east we now began the journey to the coast and a very long drive
eventually found us in Agdz.The
‘Rough Guide’ pointed us to a working farm on the outskirts of town, which
initially looked a bit rough – the bedrooms consisted of mattresses on the
floor and the place had a distinctly unreliable electricity supply!We became even more concerned when a ‘hippy’ family in a transit van
pulled into the courtyard and then left without stopping!

Trumpeter
Finch

As
it turned out this was one of the best places we stayed with friendly hosts,
good Tajines and a lively ‘folk music’ session on the Berber drums.This all added acultural
flavour to the birding routine.

1st
April

A
‘twitchy’ early morning start before our hosts awoke saw us heading for our
last chance for the much hoped for T B lark.Our ‘gen’ was not exactly up to date with reports from Gosney of
sightings on a plain 5 kms from Taznaknt in 1993!

Undeterred
we found the spot and headed out across the undulating stony desert, which
initially produced very few birds.However,
as in all the best birding tales a shout eventually went up from Mark – he had
found the ‘holy grail’.Unfortunately
the bird then vanished and Dave got a little too close to this ‘ideal’
habitat.

Thick-billed
Lark

Despite
these traumas, and a tense 45 minute wait (compensated by two Cream Coloured
Coursers), a pair of Thick Billed Larks eventually reappeared in the
original location.As with all the
best birds they then performed superbly, proving to be very approachable.The female was constantly quivering her wings to the male but he playing
hard to get, seemingly more interested in the blooming desert vegetation!

Thick-billed
Lark

Birds
don’t always live up to their ‘hype’ but this one certainly did.

Thick-billed
Lark

After
this idyllic encounter we headed for Taliouine.The rough guide pointed to an eaterie, Auberge Soukana, on the outskirts
of the town and this proved to be a real delight.Marvellous fresh tomatoes, lamb kebabs and roast potatoes with rosemary
produced the undoubted culinary highlight of the trip.

Turtle
Dove

Continuing
ever westwards we reached the valley of the Sous and stopped at the scenic
Aoulouz Gorge before completing the final leg of this epic journey to Agadir.

2nd
April

Zitting
Cisticola

Leaving
the Hotel Pergola, another early start took us to Oued Massa and to the causeway
(Gosney Southern, page 11, site 8) in search of Tchagra’s.Somewhat surprisingly we couldn’t find any!However, this was an excellent area with Squacco &
Purple Heron, Marbled Teal, Black Bellied Sandgrouse,
Brown Throated Sand Martin, ‘Iberian’ Yellow Wagtail &
Zitting Cisticola encountered
amongst many other species.

Squacco
Heron
& 'Iberian' Yellow Wagtail

Moving
onto the reserve the lovely early morning had become a 40oC scorcher.Despite the perspiration we finally managed to track down a
pair of Black Crowned Tchagra’s and enjoyed excellent views. Other
highlights here included ‘Maroccanus’ Cormorants, Glossy Ibis and an
Egyptian Mongoose.

Black-crowned
Tchagra (DB)
& 'Maroccanus' Cormorant

We
then had the good fortune to encounter some fly by Bald Ibis above the
reserve, along with a Lanner Falcon.

Bald
Ibis

This
was followed by some traditional Berber hospitality – sitting on the floor
eating an omelette with our fingers and drinking mint tea – whilst watching
MTV received via a satellite dish!

Black-winged
Kite (DB)

Continuing
to explore the area after lunch produced a delightful encounter with a Black
Winged Kite hovering overhead.A
final stop at the causeway produced a ‘mega’ butterfly - a Plain Tiger.

Black-winged
Kite

We
then headed back to Agadir, arriving at dusk, and headed to an area of bushes
between the Royal Palace and the Oued Sous.This is an excellent place for Red Necked Nightjars and we heard
several birds singing and saw them hawking insects and landing briefly on the
road.

3rd
April

Finding
Bald Ibis at Oued Massa saved us the trip to Tamri and allowed to spend a
leisurely morning birding the Sous estuary.This turned out to be very fortuitous.

Our
first stop overlooking the river produced an excellent selection of birds
including

We
then moved on to the mouth of the river and the scrub here produced a number of
sylvia warblers including, to our delight, two Orphean Warblers.At this point we also recorded three Collared Pratincoles over the
estuary.

Walking
out onto the sand flats we scanned the first group of Sandwich Terns and
were rather shocked to discover an immature Franklin’s Gull with them!(We later discovered that the bird had been present since at least 17th
February).We all enjoyed good views before the bird left the terns to
join the nearby gull flock, which included several Audouins Gulls.After this excitement we carried on birding and the mornings variety was
added to with Osprey, Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Purple Heron
appearing in quick succession.

Franklin's
Gull

Then
a raptor was spotted coming in off the sea and turned out to be a stunning dark
phase male Montagu’s Harrier.This
graceful bird gave great views before circling away to the north providing a
fitting end to an outstanding mornings birding.

Audouin's
Gull
& Black-bellied Sandgrouse

After
checking out of our hotel we travelled back to Marrakech and arrived late
afternoon.We then headed into the
foothills of the Atlas for a final search for Moroccan Wagtail(ssp
subpersonata).We just picked a likely looking river at Tahanaoute
and quickly located 4 of these distinctive birds. We ended
another wonderful day at the entertaining White Stork & Cattle
Egret colony at the Gendarmerie Royale in Asni before heading to our hotel
in Marrakech.

Moroccan
Wagtail
& Cattle Egret

4th
April

After
a lively night in Marrakech – with Nicola impressing the crowds with her
juggling skills - we had a leisurely breakfast before returning to the airport.The birding was not quite complete however, and we discovered
a House Bunting singing inside the terminal!

House
Bunting

A
smooth journey home followed and all agreed that Morocco was a marvellous
destination, with 180 species being recorded in total.The encounter with Thick Billed Lark was particularly memorable,
and as a result this was voted bird of the trip.